Pennsylvania's Wage Payment and Collection Law Protects You if You Are Suing for Unpaid Wages, Including Fringe Benefits Such as Vacation Pay

The WPCL protects employees who are owed wages such as payroll pay or bonus, as well as those entitled to earned but unpaid fringe benefits such as vacation pay. If you are owed anything of value by your employer, the WPCL is available to you.

Missing Anything?

Pennsylvania's Wage Payment and Collection Law Entitled Employees to Recover Punitive Damages and Attorney Fees
The WPCL applies if an employee can prove that he/she has not been paid wages, compensation or fringe benefits to which he/she has a contractual right. How do you prove a contractual right?

There are three common ways that a non-union employee proves such a contract.

How Do I Prove That I Have a Contractual Right to Be Paid Wages, Bonuses, Fringe Benefits or Severance by My Employer?

One, you have a written employment agreement, usually in the form of a letter or a more detailed written contract, which spells out how much in compensation you will be paid each year, and what type of fringe benefits you will receive.

Two, the company has a written company policy that spells out how much employees are paid, and what fringe benefits employees receive.

If You Have Earned It, You Should be Paid it

Three, the company's course of dealing, with you and other employees like you, creates a contractual arrangement that cannot be avoided at the company's choosing.

So, if the company always pays its employees 3 weeks of bonus each March, that proves a contract. If it always pays employees one week of severance per year of employment, that is a contract.

Pennsylvania's Wage Payment and Collection Law Provides for Punitive Damages, Individual Liability and a Mandatory Award of Attorney Fees to Victorious Employees
WPCL contains three provisions that make it a somewhat unusual, and very powerful, vehicle of recovery for disenfranchised employees.

First, WPCL provides that any employee prevailing on a claim is entitled to a mandatory award of attorney's fees and costs. The reverse is NOT true if the employer wins.

Are They Claiming "Good Cause" for Your Termination
When None Exists?

Two, the WPCL entitles a victorious plaintiff to a penalty equal to up to 25% of the unpaid compensation, and this penalty can be avoided only if the employer can prove that it had a "good faith" reason for withholding the monies in question.

Three, the WPCL provides that any individuals who are involved in the decision to withhold the earned compensation can be sued on an individual basis, even if the company is a corporation.

If You Have Been Misclassified as a Self-Employed Independent Contractor, You May Recover Compensation Under Pennsylvania's Wage Payment and Collection Law

I frequently am contacted by workers who had signed independent contractor agreements, and are paid as if they are self-employed, but in fact do the same job as co-workers who are paid on a w-2 basis. This is called "misclassification," and it is all too common.

John
typically represents workers who need an employment lawyer throughout
Southeastern Pennsylvania, including those working in Philadelphia County, Delaware
County, Montgomery County, Bucks County, Chester County, Berks County and Lancaster County.

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